An experienced investor will never buy in NJ without seeing inside or they'll really low ball you.

Just eliminating some perks for the folks that don't play ball. 

I put the ball in the tenants court for these types of situations.

I don’t have time for games and dislike when loan representatives act like they can’t ball park me a loan estimate.

But if not kept in check everyone will think that what Keith and Andy are doing is totally acceptable.They didn't; even have the balls to defend themselves.

I would never loan my money the way you see it done with the Brokers.. they rely on 3 party appraisals and credit reports they Never or basically never even meet their client to eye ball them..

Nobody has a crystal ball and knows what the future holds, but if you want to introduce a partner/sell ownership interest its far easier if the property was originally owned as an LLC rather than in your personal name because selling membership interest in an LLC is far simpler than re-titling real estate. 

A super ball number to get you going would be at least $190/SF-$220/sf ish... to figure out square footage it's probably best to connect with a Chicago architect like @Samuel Pavlovcik or @Prashanth Mahakali both can talk through the zoning and plan development process.

That requires like engineering and construction expertise... and municipal connections and negotiation mastery.. a TON of luck... and "balls of steel"!

You have the passion, but you want to find some connections in real life or start the ball rolling here and take that to a meetup.